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Early Book Review: The Goblin's Puzzle: Being the Adventures of a Boy with No Name and Two Girls Called Alice by Andrew S. Chilton

The Goblin's Puzzle: Being the Adventures of a Boy with No Name and Two Girls Called Alice by Andrew S. Chilton is a middle grade novel that is currently scheduled for release on January 19 2016.

The boy is a slave with no name that is now on a quest to discover his purpose and place in the world. The goblin holds answers and more tricks than anyone might guess. he is not to be underestimated or trusted. Plain Alice is a smart peasant girl carried off by a confused dragon and mixed up on a plot bigger than even she could fully guess. Princess Alice luckily missed being kidnapped, at least the first time around. The unlikely group comes together by chance and face a sinister plot to take over the kingdom, kind monsters, a cruel magician, and dozens of deathly boring palace bureaucrats. Together they just might outwit the villains and crack the goblin’s puzzle.

The Goblin's Puzzle is a fun and unique fantasy adventure. I really enjoyed that it felt a little like reading a classic fantasy quest novel, but still was fresh and new. each of the main characters were well fleshed out, even our nameless slave boy. They all had their own back stories, fears, and hopes while still coming together to work towards a common goal. I like that intelligence, cleverness, and kindness were better tools in the long run for all of the main characters than strength or battle experience. The slow discovery about each of the characters and their developing friendships were very well done, and made me feel like I was meeting them myself and taking part in the adventure. I thought that the pacing and plot was pretty close to perfect. However, even better were the characters that defied convention or stepped beyond my expectations.

The Goblin's Puzzle is a wonderful middle grade adventure. I enjoyed it so much that I hope there are more books set in the same world in the near future.